ONI Report 2R54HW
by S.T.A.R.S.Marine
Summary: This is an ONI report on one  of my role-play characters involvement on Paris IV. Told in first person since it is a debriefing. Rated M for violence and gore.
1. Chapter 1

**ONI Section I Security Clearance required to read.**

**Below is the account of Sergeant Scott Bruhn of the United Nations Space Command Marine Corps on the events that took place on 15 December 2549 at the Siege of Paris IV, Pre, During, and Post Operation. Told through Sergeant Bruhn's point of view.**

**ONI Interviewers; Master Chief Petty Officer Edward Rommel and Sergeant Major Vincent Harris.**

**0020 Hours. 15, December. 2549 (MILITARY CALENDAR)**

**Aboard the UNSC Frigate _Pink Mist_**

**Orbit Paris IV**

"_Officer on deck!"_ Someone shouted.

Instantly everyone bolted up and moved to stand next to the footlocker placed at the base of every rack. Their left hands hung slightly balled parallel to their left legs, their feet were at a perfect forty-five degree angle, and their right hands were tilted in front of their right eyes yet the hands were not touching the skin on their faces.

"_At ease Marines! We just got a mission which means all you greens who think they're badass are bout to pop their cherries!"_ First Lieutenant Jameson shouted at the squad, _"ONI with their infinite wisdom had decided that there isn't enough time for a formal briefing. So to make things short and simple; the Covenant have invaded Paris IV. We are headed out to neutralize High Value Targets. Then we will be providing both Overwatch and sniper support. Grab your gear and let's go Devil Dogs! OORAH!"_

"_OORAH!"_ Every Marine but myself shouted in return.

Instead I had a worried and fearful look covering my face. Sergeant Paul Wersbowski, my best friend and one of the reasons I joined the Corps, noticed this and quickly jogged next to me.

"_I'm sure they're alright Scott. Now let's get going!"_ He told me with such confidence that I couldn't help but slightly believe him.

Of course I only nodded before rushing out of the barracks and down to the armory. The dull thumping of boots coming into contact with the solid Grade A Titanium floors of the ship was all that most of the Marines of Echo Company's Designated Marksman Division could hear as we double timed it to grab our gear.

We passed through the open double security doors and the Marines stopped by the Armor section as we all quickly started to put the kevlar armor on. Ninety percent of the armor covered the Marines body. The other ten percent of the body was covered by a flexible under armor. On the head was a kevlar helmet with an integrated Head's Up Display over one of the eyes. On most cases it was the right eye.

Every Marine in that squad was skilled and quick enough to have gotten their armor on in under two mikes flat. As soon as we were all suited and booted, we jogged the few steps to the weapons racks. Most of the designated sharpshooters grabbed SRS99C-S2AM Sniper Systems. The spotters grabbed either an MA5 Bravo or an MA5 Charlie. I on the other hand grabbed the only Model 99 Special Applications Sniper Rifle otherwise known as the M99 Stanchion Gauss Rifle, or M99 for short, that I had maintenenced earlier that day. Everybody thought my rifle was outdated by at least fifteen years, but I personally prefer using it since it's practically a one shot multiple kill weapon. It utilizes Gauss technology and was rather expensive to produce, hence it's ceased production. But of course you already know this.

All the Marines grabbed the same sidearm, a Model 6 Delta, or M6D. It fires .50 caliber ammunition and is extremely powerful. However there are models that are far more accurate than the Delta. The best example is the Model 6 Charlie/SOCOM otherwise known as the Model 6 Sierra, or M6S. Those are used by the Marine special forces known as the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or ODSTs. Many of the Marines called them Helljumpers since ninety-five percent of the time they dropped into a battlefield in a drop pod that, on the way down, super-heated to extremely high temperatures. Much like the Hell that preachers of the old Christianity religion once believed in. Hence the saying "We jump feet first into Hell" that the ODSTs adopted for when they dropped.

We moved to the ammunition racks, I grabbed four of the pre-loaded magazines for both the M6D and my M99. I feet that I own that rifle. I grabbed it from the armory on the previous ship I was stationed on. The UNSC Cruiser _**The Flying Dutchman**_. They were cleaning out the armory of certain firearms that had been outdated and/or deemed obsolete. The M99 was outdated and many considered it obsolete despite the devastating damage it causes. But enough about that. After we had our ammunition, each Marine grabbed a Ghillie Suit to help them blend in with either the long grass, wooded, or even the urban environments.

I remember Staff Sergeant Tyler Adams shouting at us, _"Down to the hanger. MOVE MOVE MOVE!" _

Every Marine sprinted through the doors. The dull sound of the regular rubber soles of our combat boots was replaced by the metallic clanking of the armored boots as they contacted Titanium floors. Within forty-five seconds I sprinted through the hanger doors and ran toward the D77H-TCI Pelican-class Dropship, or simply known as a Pelican, that our Commanding Officer First Lieutenant Mark Jameson was standing next to. I was leading the rest of the Marines to the last Pelican they would ever ride. They all said I had a determined and fierce look on my face.

"_WERSBOWSKI! GET YOUR ASS ON THE PELICAN! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"_ Lieutenant Jameson shouted over the engines of the Pelican at Wersbowski as he stopped to catch his breath. I always told him that chewing tobacco would kill him one day, I just didn't think it would have been that day.

I was sitting in one of the seats parallel to the rear hatch of the Pelican. I did what I always did when I boarded a dropship, I pulld out a full magazine of .21 Caliber ammunition and slapped it into the receiver of my M99. I watched as Wersbowski triple timed it to the aircraft while I chambered a round. As soon as Wersbowski boarded, he took one of the last two open seats while Lieutenant Jameson took the seat directly across from me. The Pelican slowly lifted into the air as it took off, there was no turning back from that point on. Granted we couldn't have even if we wanted to.

Next Lieutenant Jameson assigned us our spotters and gave us our assignments. _"Alright Marines, listen up. I already gave you the briefing. Bruhn, Wersbowski; You're Shadow One. Your targets are several high ranking Covvies. Thoemke, Carter; You're Shadow Two. You are to provide Overwatch for Dagger Two. Daniels, Wallace; You're Shadow Three. Adams, Ritchie; You're Shadow Four. You four are to provide support for the rest of the Dagger Elements. I know some of you have loved ones on Paris IV but we must focus on the missions we are assigned. There will be NO SIDE MISSIONS!"_ He said that last sentence while looking directly at me. He knew I was from Paris IV just like he knew my wife and children were on it.

The thirty-five minute flight was uneventful. Everybody did their pre-operation ritual. A few of the veteran Marines were telling the three Greens we had that 'boots don't die on their first Op, that's not how karma works' It all seemed rather quick and when the Pelican arrived at my LZ, I was surprised we were already there.

Wersbowski and myself jumped the ten feet to the ground from the hatch of the Pelican. We were the first team to be dropped since we had the highest priority mission of all the Shadow Elements.

"_Shadow Leader, this is Shadow One. We are on the ground and are Oscar Mike to Sierra Romeo Alpha"_ I said into the built-in microphone.

"_Copy that Shadow One. Capone wants those targets neutralized ASAP. Also most of the civilians have been evacuated from the planet, those that stayed were those in the Maternity Ward in the hospital nearest your position according to High Command. Shadow Leader out."_ Lieutenant Jameson's voice replied.

"_Hear that Scott? Sam's alright, she evacuated the planet."_ Wersbowski said as he patted my armored left shoulder.

The news that most of the civvies had been evacuated pushed the worries about my family away since I thought Sam wasn't pregnant. We crouch/ran to Sierra Romeo Alpha, since we were only eight hundred meters from it. From there we would take out our first target. A Jiralhanae War Chieftain that was directing several of the Jiralhanae platoons on the planet.

We stopped momentarily to put our Ghillie Suits on over their armor before we crouched down and started to sprint to our first sniping roost again.

It was surprisingly calm where we dropped; a slight wind, the perfect temperature, and it was silent. Almost as if everything was dead. It took us maybe ten, fifteen minutes at the most to get to the roost. We got within two hundred meters before we hit the dirt and crawled the rest of the way as we were trained to do. Wersbowski pulled out his spotters scope while I readied my rifle for the shots. I say shots cause I knew there would be more than one Jiralhanae in the area and I would have to neutralize all of them if we wanted to eliminate the four targets that we had. All of which were Jiralhanae War Chieftains directing the ground forces.

"_King of Clubs spotted. Distance: 1600 Meters. Wind: One mile an hour Southeast. Humidity: Forty-five percent."_ Wersbowski whispered to me.

It didn't take more than a second for me to adjust my aim accordingly._ "Aim adjusted, waiting fer green light." _I told him.

"_Fire. . .fire. . .fire"_ Wersbowski whispered.

The third fire was quickly followed by the thunderous boom as I squeezed the trigger on my M99. I sent that .21 caliber round barreling toward that Covvie piece of shit at nine point three miles per second. The War Chieftain's head was severed from it's body as the round connected with it's neck, literally disintegrating the muscle, bone, and vertebrate. The Brute Chieftain and the two Brute Captains all stared in shock as the target fell to the ground. This gave me enough time to adjust my aim for the regular Chieftain.

"_Waiting fer green light"_ I said.

"_Fire when ready."_ Wersbowski replied.

Another thunderous boom and the top half of the Chieftains head imploded as the round passed through it. Adjusting my aim once again, I fired another round that passed right between the eyes of one of the Jiralhanae Captains, effectively taking off the top half of it's head. The final Jiralhanae Captain jumped behind a burning vehicle, realizing what was going on. That was quickly changed as I fired a round that punched through the weakened metal of the carcass and watched as one of the Brute Captain's arms went flying. This evidently put the Jiralhanae into a rage since it rounded the corner and bull rushed toward our position over a mile away. Within a nano-second, the Jiralhanae was in a pool of it's red-purple blood on the broken and battered pavement.

"_Shadow leader, this is Shadow One. Do you copy? Over."_ I said into the built in microphone.

"_This is Shadow Leader, send your traffic. Over."_ Lieutenant Jameson's voice replied.

"_King of Clubs is down. I repeat King of Clubs has been eliminated. How Copy? Over."_ I told him.

"_Solid copy Shadow One. Continue with objective. Over."_ Jameson's voice replied.

"_Copy that Shadow Leader. We are Oscar Mike. Out_._"_ I responded before telling Wersbowski to move out.

We crawled the two hundred meters in case any lower Covenant beings were in the area. If any Kig-yar snipers were, they would have spotted us as I was eliminating the Brutes. Seeing as how we were still breathing, there either wasn't any Kig-yar snipers in the area or they didn't see where the shot came from. Either way we were incredibly lucky. As we stood up, I looked over to Wersbowski.

"_You know, you could easily pass as a living bush."_ I said as we crouch/ran toward our next Sierra Romeo to eliminate the King of Spades.

"_Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Be careful, don't want any of those alien fucks pissin' all over you."_ Wersbowski replied.

We shared a laugh as we continued to run.

"_How far from Alpha to Bravo?"_ Wersbowski asked during our run.

"_Approximately one and a half klicks."_ I responded almost instantly, _"ya shoulda took a lil longer to memorize those maps, Paul."_

"_That's why I got you. You're practically a map of every operation we've been on. Still remember the Sierra Romeos from Miridem?"_ Wersbowski asked me as we started to slow down.

"_Yeah I do. Alpha was at Grid Yankee Zero Two Alpha Four Five. Bravo was half a klick South from it. Charlie was three hundred meters East from Bravo. Delta was fou-" _

"_OK, you can stop now. It was a yes or no question."_ Wersbowski interrupted me while half laughing.

"_Hold it. I see movement ahead."_ I hissed as a few dark shadows moved two hundred meters North of our position before stopping.

"_STAR_" I heard from the small group.

"_Texas"_ I shouted back.

"_Is that the call back?"_ I heard one of the shadows whisper.

"_Who cares. They're not aliens and they're not shooting us."_ Another whispered back to the first.

"_Identify yourselves."_ A third shouted toward us.

"_Sergeant Scott Bruhn and Sergeant Paul Wersbowski. Now identify yourselves."_ I called back.

"_Shadow One? God I told you three dipshits we were going in the wrong direction."_ A fourth voice said plain as day.

"_You idgits."_ I started but Staff Sergeant Adams cut me off by half yelling at me.

"_Bruhn respect the SOP dammit! Now where the hell are the other Dagger Elements?"_

"_Shadow Leader, this is Shadow One. Interrogative. What is the current position of the remainder of the Dagger Elements? Over."_ I spoke into my COMM set as Shadows Three and Four bickered about where they were supposed to go.

"_Shadow One, it is not your mission to link up with the Dagger Elements. Over."_ Lieutenant Jameson said.

"_Shadow Leader, Shadow One has encountered Shadows Three and Four and they seem to be lost. I was asking on their behalf. Over."_ I responded.

"_Standby to receive coordinates Shadow One. . . . Grid X-ray Zero Three Oscar Sierra Five Niner. Out."_ Jameson informed me.

"_Staff Sergeant! You need to head North for two klicks."_ I said, relaying the information as both Wersbowski myself jogged up to the other Shadow Elements.

"_Thanks Sergeant. Alright Shadows Three and Four, let's move out."_ Staff Sergeant Adams said in a rather loud whisper.

As the two other Shadow elements started to sprint toward their designated AO, both Wersbowski and myself stared after them half amused and half shocked.

"_How in the hell did they ever pass boot?"_ Wersbowski asked.

"_Better question. How the hell are they still alive?"_ I asked in return.

"_I guess we'll never know."_ Wersbowski said.

"_Let's move before we're spotted."_ I suggested because I didn't want to get shot with super heated gas or accelerated particles while watching other Marines act like a couple lost idgits.

It took us about ten minutes to get to the next position and sight the our next target. Same as the first, a Jiralhanae War Chieftain directing more ground troops. It was Capone's hope that if we neutralized these commanders, then it would disorient the ground forces. Odds were that Capone has never served on the battlefield, since most soldiers know how to take control of a situation if their commander was eliminated. Well the Sangheili and the Marines do.

It didn't take more than a minute to eliminate that set of Jiralhanae. They put up about as much fight as the first set. Lieutenant Jameson and myself shared another brief set of transmissions before Wersbowski and myself started to move to the third and final HVT.

Surprisingly nothing had gone wrong so far. Both Wersbowski and myself were dumbfounded as to how this could happen as we made our way to the last sniping roost.

When we got there, it all seemed too good to be true. Just like the two times before this, all the targets were grouped together. They were extremely easy to kill, of course I should have noticed it was a lil too easy.

The sound of an inbound Banshee destroyed any and all celebratory motives Wersbowski and myself shared. We both stayed as still as statues as the Banshee flew over our heads. Seconds later it started to pepper the ground with plasma. The smell of burning grass filled my nose as I felt tremendous heat by my legs. Wersbowski tossed his Ghillie Suit aside and opened fire on the Banshee as it made another pass at us. The rounds bounced off the hull of the ship for about three seconds before they started penetrating.

I targeted the Banshee with my M99 before squeezing off a shot. The result was a spectacular blast of blue and white as the round passed straight through the Banshee and the pilot. But the sounds of the explosion masked the sound of the second Banshee.

I didn't notice it til it was too late. It had fired it's secondary armament and the blast hit the ground mere meters from Wersbowski. The heat evaporated, yes evaporated, his left arm and melted his weapon. There was nothing left of it. The shock wave sent him flying back. Before he hit the ground, the Banshee filled him with plasma. I watched in shock before emptying my magazine into the Banshee. The aircraft exploded and the charred remains of the pilot dropped to the ground. I didn't pay any attention to the smoking body as I jumped over it to get to Wersbowski. He was dead before I got to him. My vision started to blur as I reached down and grabbed his dog tags and tore them from around his neck. I felt a tear run down my cheek as I stuffed them in my pocket. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Paul was my brother, not by blood but close enough.

**Sergeant Bruhn then pulled out Sergeant Wersbowski's dog tags and held the chain tightly as he looked at the two separate tags.**

I then contacted Lieutenant Jameson. _"Shadow Lead, this Shadow One. Wersbowski is Kilo India Alpha."_

"_Copy that Shadow One. Be advised: large numbers of Covenant have been detected half a klick to your East at grid X-ray Zero Three Oscar Sierra Two Niner."_

"_Copy that. Interrogative, What is the approximate size of the hostile forces. Over."_ I asked mainly because I didn't want to engage an unknown hostile number with limited ammunition.

"_Standby Shadow One. . . . . . . Shadow One, hostile numbers are estimated to be around seventy plus."_

"_Copy that Shadow Lead. Shadow One out,"_ I said as I stood up and wiped a tear from my eye as I left my friends smoldering body.


	2. Chapter 2

**The following section is told by** **the footage from Sergeant Bruhn's Helmcam. Evidently this portion of the mission was too hard for him to relay. The Marine broke down into tears and crawled to a corner before stopping in the fetal position. This shocked both Master Chief Petty Officer Rommel and myself. In all our years in the UNSC and in ONI, we had never seen a Marine actually do this in front of others. It was apparent that he loved his family very deeply and in my personal opinion, he was wishing he never joined the UNSC. Which the Sergeant confirmed with a nod when we asked him if he indeed regretted his decision.**

Sergeant Bruhn watched helplessly through the scope on his M99 as the scene unfolded in front of him. Mrs. Samantha Bruhn was running with a newborn child in one of her arms while she was carrying two year old Vivian Bruhn in her other. Five year old Chester Bruhn was within a foot behind his mother as plasma flew inaccurately past their heads from the two Unggoy behind them. Sergeant Bruhn wanted, no he needed to help but he couldn't, he was completely out of ammunition for both his M6D and his M99. The skirmish with the Covenant Platoon earlier had expended the rest of it.

He watched in horror as three Jiralhanae walked through a bashed door and brandished their weapons at his beloved children and wife. Samantha stopped instantly, but Chester kept going and was met with a red-hot spike through his chest. Scott watched as his son's lifeless body fell to the pavement closely followed by his wife falling to her knees with tears running down her beautiful cheeks. What happened next surprised both the Sergeant and the Jiralhanae because Vivian broke free from her mothers grasp and started punching and kicking at the nearest Brutes legs. If she was doing that to one of the Unggoy that was chasing them earlier she might have stood a quarter of a chance at beating one of them.

But the giant Gorilla men were far superior in strength, height, and ferociousness. The Jiralhanae that his daughter was attacking reached down and plucked her up by her head. Vivian squirmed to try and free herself and this got a laugh out of the Brute before it applied pressure to the two year old's head. The result was his daughter screaming in pain and anguish as her skull started to splinter and break. Then she was silenced as her head quite literally was crushed into a small bloody ball. Sergeant Bruhn looked away from his scope as he violently vomited to his right.

Looking back through the scope, he saw another Jiralhanae had the newborn child in it's hands and it was sniffing it as it cried while Samantha was on the ground holding her face. What happened next is a first class example of why the Covenant need to be eradicated. The Jiralhanae opened it's large gorilla-like mouth and bit the newborn's head clean off. It chewed it and we could swear we could hear the crunching of the skull over the half-mile distance he was watching from. Tears ran down his face as he watched the next events. it was just too horrible to not be able to look away, much like a burning car crash.

The last of the three Jiralhanae dropped it's Type-25 Grenade Launcher "Brute Shot" and drew it's Type-25 Carbine "Spiker" as it walked up to his wife. It slashed out and he could hear Samantha's screams of pain as the dual blades on the bottom of the weapon sliced through her flesh and through some of her bones. The Jiralhanae then proceeded in ripping part of her abdomen out before feasting on the flesh and muscle in it's hands. The tears on the Sergeant's face were a continuous stream as he felt an immense pain in his stomach as he watched. He wanted nothing more than to have been able to switch positions with his wife and children so they were a few hundred meters from his specified Evacuation Zone.

But that was something that would never happen and he knew that he would never be able to hold his wife again as he watched the Jiralhanae rip one of her intestines out of her opened abdomen and chew on it as well. What came next was the last thing Sergeant Bruhn wanted to see, besides the events that had just unfolded in front of him. The Jiralhanae aimed and fired two spikes, one into each of Samantha's shoulders. The beast then turned around and walked back to it's Type-25 Grenade Launcher. Picking it back up, it turned and aimed at the Sergeant's bloodied and dying wife. It fired one of it's grenades that collided with Samantha's chest. The explosion that followed upon impact turned Samantha into human mulch that coated the walls of the buildings she was next to.

Sergeant Bruhn continued to stare at the area the scene had unfolded in. The sound of the Pelican's engines non-existent in his ears as were the voices of his fellow Marines as they rushed toward him. He felt the hands on his armored body and he felt that he was being picked up. He turned his head to stare at one of the Marines barely recognizing it as First Lieutenant Jameson. The Officer was saying something, but whatever it was fell upon deaf ears.

He was gently set into one of the seats on the Pelican and watched as the remaining Marines from Echo Company's Designated Marksman Division boarded the drop-ship as well.

**From here we took an hour recess so Sergeant Bruhn could collect himself again and finish the debrief**.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the Pelican landed, Corpsmen and medics rushed toward the ship and grabbed the wounded. I half walked and half stumbled my way through the crowd and headed toward the Armory to drop off my M99 and the M6D. Both required major cleaning and minor repairs, which normally I would have attended to upon entering the Armory. But this was one of the few times that it just didn't seem like the thing to do. In retrospect I should have cleaned and repaired them, otherwise I wouldn't be in as much trouble as I am right now. I dropped the two weapons off and made my way to the barracks so I could try and sort the thoughts and memories out that were flooding my mind.

I walked back to the barracks still dressed in my battered and bloody combat armor. The normal fatigue green was completely covered with human, Sangheili, Unggoy, and Kig-yar blood. As I made my way to the rack, I passed the one Wersbowski used. It still hadn't suck in that I would never see him again, but it did sink in that I wouldn't see my family again. As I walked up to my rack, I took my helmet off and let it drop to the floor. I was in complete shock and I barely noticed that the barracks was buzzing with more than just the Designated Marksman Division. Inside the barracks was the remainder of Echo Company, what thirty Marines were left.

Everyone seemed to be suffering from a small amount of shell shock. Even the more experience Marines were slightly shocked but not nearly as bad as the greens. I didn't care though and I don't really care now. I lost everything; my wife, my children, my home and my best friend. I was too shocked to cry or to even pay that much attention.

"Sergeant Bruhn, you got a letter!" Corporal Zachary Thoemke said as he laid the letter on the rack a few feet away from me. Staring at it, I reluctantly picked it up before proceeding to slowly opening it. Pulling out the folded piece of paper, my eyes darted back and forth as I read it. There was one sentence that I stopped at and re-read several times. My eyes went wide and tears started to form at the corners of my eyes again as I dropped it. Corporal Thoemke saw this and he slowly walked over to me before kneeling down and retrieved the letter.

"Mind if I read it?" Thoemke asked.

I just shook his head with the same look of shock on my face as tears started to form at the corners of my eyes. The letter explained why she was still on Paris IV and why she hadn't evacuated when she had the chance.

_Scott,_

_Things have been good since you've left. Chester is starting kindergarten next week and Vivian said her first sentence today. It was so cute, I wish you could have been here to hear it. She's really missing you. We all do. When is the next time you can come home to see us? I miss the days when we all would go to the beach and spend time together. I still have the picture of the last time you came to visit. Do you remember those two short days? Remember how the children were so happy to see Daddy again? Do you remember after we put the children to sleep?_

_Well I have a surprise for you. I'm pregnant. I'm due to deliver sometime next month. I hope the UNSC will give you some time off to be with me when I give birth. I want you here for that, just like I want you here now. I miss your arms around me at night, they made me feel safer than any propaganda the UNSC will ever put out. I hope to see you soon._

_Yours forever_

_-Samantha_

"Oh wow, congratulations Bruhn. Too bad she's nothing more than a stain on concrete. Oh wait, now she's nothing more than a piece of that smoldering planet." Thoemke told me. He never liked the fact that other Marines were able to keep their relationships from hitting rock bottom. I guess that's what happens when your wife of ten years leaves you fer yer brother when you join the Corps.

Anyways back on track here.

"_SHUT YER FUCKIN MOUTH THEMPKE!"_ I shouted as I bolted up and grabbed the Corporal by his throat with my left hand while I brought my right back as I was balling it into a fist. Swinging my armored fist forward, I put all my strength and body weight into the punch. My fist made contact with the soft flesh and hard bone of the Corporal's jaw. The impact bruised several of my knuckles but the damage caused to Thoemke was far more substantial. The Corporal's jaw was broken in two places, his mouth was filling with blood from where the tongue was severed by his teeth, and the Marine was unconscious. Everyone watched in awe as the even unfolded in a blink of the eye.

"_SERGEANT BRUHN MY QUARTERS, NOW!"_ Lieutenant Jameson shouted at me as I let go of Thoemke.

I stepped over Thoemke's unconscious body and exited the barracks behind the Lieutenant. We walked in silence all the way to his quarters. Of course I wasn't in the mood to talk, let alone be disciplined for something that the Corporal deserved. He shouldn't have been bad mouthing my wife like that, I mean seriously everybody that knew about his ex wife left it alone. We never talked to him about it unless he was ranting on about her, then we all agreed with him.

But yeah, when the Lieutenant and I arrived at his quarters he poured himself a glass of scotch and offered me a glass as well. Which I happily took. I needed something to dull the edge of the days events. That's when the Lieutenant said something that surprised me.

"_Sergeant, I'm going to put your name in for the Helljumpers. Of course the stunt you pulled in the barracks requires a demotion, but I'm sure you can make it back to Sergeant in no time at all. Imma forward your "request" once we're done with this meeting, whether you like it or not Marine. Your skills are invaluable in this division, but as you can tell from the barracks. Echo Company is an Op away from being wiped out and there won't be any transfers to this unit anytime soon. At least not within the next month."_ He told me as he sipped on his scotch.

My reply was one of shock, wonder, and slight anger. Yet I didn't voice my opinions. I'm not paid fer opinions. We talked fer maybe another hour and he promised me that he wouldn't send in my "request" to join ODST until after this debrief. I convinced him to make sure that Echo Company was indeed going to be a mere echo before sending me off.

But that's not the reason you brought me here and I know that. You wanted a full debrief on the Paris IV mission. I gave you my part in as much detail as I can recollect. Also if you think Lieutenant Jameson betrayed vital Intel for the whereabouts of Reach you are wrong. He's a Marine and he knows the true meaning of Semper Fidelis. That's all that you're getting out of me.

**Shortly afterwards Sergeant Bruhn received his demotion for assaulting a subordinate. Now he is Corporal Bruhn and he was recently shipped to Reach for ODST interviews and training which are currently being supervised by my fellow interviewer, MCPO Rommel. Corporal Bruhn holds the Marine Corps slogan to heart for he would not give any information on former First Lieutenant Mark Jameson, whom we believe left the Covenant several datapads with locations of vital planets and military fortifications.**

**End Report**

**Sergeant Major Vincent Harris**

**MCPO Edward Rommel**


End file.
